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40 Qualifying Quarters
Lawfully admitted permanent residents who enter the country on or after August 22, 1996, must have 40 qualifying work quarters to be eligible for Federal-Funded CalWORKs. In addition to the applicant/recipient's own work quarters, the quarters can be credited from:
- Natural parents, stepparents, or adoptive parents while the individual was under the age of 18 and the relationship existed,
- Current spouse, and
- A former spouse if the marriage ended by death.
Effective January 1, 1997, any quarter in which the non-citizen received any Federal means-tested public benefit (such as CalWORKs, RCA, etc) is not counted as a qualifying quarter.
IEVS Applicant Report
The SSA has an automated process for accessing earnings records for qualified non-citizens, their spouses, and their parents. Data is included on the IEVS Applicant Report and this process is incorporated into the IEVS applicant match. The data match will reflect the total number of qualifying quarters for an individual as well as the specific years for which those quarters were credited.
Note: IEVS reports do not reflect if the individual received any Federal means-tested public benefits. EWs must review the application, CalSAWS, and MEDs to determine if the individual received any public benefits.
Lag Period
Data for the current year and in some cases the prior year are not available on the match. The earnings for this period must be verified if these quarters are needed to establish eligibility.
Lag Period Verification
The following types of verification are acceptable for lag period quarters:
- W-2 or W2C forms
- Pay stubs
- Employer statements of wages indicating that taxes were withheld.
40 Quarters Confirmed
Approve the qualified non-citizen for Federal-Funded CalWORKs assistance if otherwise eligible.
40 Quarters Not Confirmed
If the 40 work quarters are not able to be confirmed then:
- Determine if any additional work history claimed during the lag period has not been included on the IEVS report,
- Review verification received for income claimed during the lag period, and
- If sufficient quarters are documented, then approve Federal-Funded CalWORKs if all other eligibility is met, or
- If less than 40 quarters are documented, then approve State-Funded CalWORKs if all other eligibility criteria are met, then:
- Approve State-Funded CalWORKs if the individual has resided in the U.S. less than 5 years from the DOE, or
- Approve Federal-Funded CalWORKs if the individual has resided in the U.S. for 5 years or more provided the individual meets the criteria for federal eligibility. Refer to Federally Funded for more information on the requirements for federal eligibility.
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